Pakistan and West Indies had all to play for in the decider during the third and final ODI at the Providence Stadium in Guyana.

It was Mohammad Hafeez (left) and Shoaib Malik’s impressive 113-run stand which cemented Pakistan’s dominance in the game

After a gruesome battle in the opening two One-Day Internationals (ODIs), both Pakistan and West Indies had all to play for in the decider during the third and final ODI at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on Tuesday. However, it was the visitors who came out on top, as they snatched an impressive six-wicket win to register a much needed 2-1 ODI series win, before they set their campaign for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2017 at England in June. This was also their last ODI series before the mega event. Nevertheless, the final ODI too was filled with some highlights, so let us have a look at them. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Pakistan vs West Indies 2017, 3rd ODI at Guyana

Shai Hope’s splendid 71: Just like Pakistan, West Indies too had a few highlights from their innings, and one of them was wicketkeeper-batsman Shai Hope, who was fighting against the odds to make sure West indies post at least an average total that could be defended. Therefore, he managed to strike a splendid knock of 71, which included a boundary and a couple of sixes, at strike rate of 63. He was also involved in a good 101-run stand for the fourth wicket along with Jason Mohammed, which indeed allowed West Indies to post a fair total 233 for 9.

Jason Mohammed’s fine knock of 59: Apart from Hope, it was the star from the first ODI, Jason Mohammed, who once again displayed his bright performance, as he struck a fine knock of 59 to allow West Indies post a fair total. His 101-run stand along with Hope gave considerable trouble to the Pakistan bowlers. His innings included five boundaries and a couple of sixes. FULL CRICKET UPDATES: Pakistan vs West Indies 2017, 3rd ODI at Guyana

Hope-Mohammed’s grand-stand of 101: As said above, both Hope and Mohammed, apart from their individual performances, were also involved in some good teamwork. And what good teamwork can it be other than a grand partnership? The pair added crucial 101 runs for Pakistan in the innings, which actually allowed West Indies to build a proper innings and make things easier for the incoming batsmen to allow West Indies to go past the 250-run mark. Hope contributed 41, while Mohammed contributed 59 runs in the stand.

Pakistan’s bright bowling: Although Hope and Mohammed troubled the West Indies bowlers, there were three bowlers who did a bright job with the ball for the visitors. Mohammad Aamer, Junaid Khan and Shadab Khan exactly did the same, as they claimed a couple of wickets each to give a hard time to the West Indies batsmen, and knock out their nine wickets in the innings.

Mohammad Hafeez‘s exquisite knock of 81: As for the Pakistan innings, it certainly started with the knock of Mohammd Hafeez, who struck an exquisite 81 to allow Pakistan recover from the troubled situation. Reeling at 36 for 3, Hafeez built a platform for the incoming Pakistan batsmen to make sure that they steer the innings towards the average target set by the West Indies batsmen. His knock included eight boundaries and a couple of sixes, that did considerable damage to the West Indies bowling. He was also involved in the match-saving stand of 113 along with Shoaib Malik.

Shoaib Malik’s superb knock of 101: If Hafeez built the platform, Malik acted as the pillar, as it was indeed him, who held on to his gameplay and the innings. It was he, who made sure that Paksitan capitalise on the situation created by Hafeez, as he played a calm and steady innings and made sure that a decent partnership along with Hafeez was all that Pakistan needed to get out of the troubled situation. He also struck the winning runs and brought up his ninth ODI century, which included 10 boundaries and a couple of sixes, scoring at a strike rate of 91.

Hafeez-Malik impressive stand of 113: As said above, apart from Hafeez and Malik’s individual innings, it was their impressive 113-run stand which cemented Pakistan’s dominance in the game. It was their stand that provided the platform for Pakistan to rise again and strike back at the West Indies bowlers, as they did so. West Indies bowlers did have some troubled time during the stand as they were running out of options, patience and the game. Hafeez contributed 66, while Malik contributed 44 in the stand.

Malik-Sarfrz Ahmed’s winning stand of 87: However, the stand between Hafeez and Malik was not all, as it was the final stand between Malik and skipper Sarfraz Ahmed, that enured that the rescue platform created by Hafeez was not left dying and this pair acted as a pillar to it. Both the batsmen supported it for the rest of the game, most in the form of Malik, until he hit the winning runs to hand Pakistan a 2-1 series win. Malik contributed 57 in the stand, while Sarfrz contributed 24.

(Ayush Gupta is a reporter at CricketCountry. A passionate supporter of Manchester United, he idolises Roger Federer and is also a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) maniac. He can be followed on Twitter @Ayush24x7)

First Published on April 12, 2017 4:20 AM ISTLast updated on April 12, 2017 11:03 AM IST